THE CRANKY OLD MAN
Random thoughts and stuff from a cranky old man. Humor (maybe)and satire, mostly stuff from a confused head.
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Tuesday, October 9, 2012

NEVER GOT AN A - A Cranky re-wind

NEVER GOT AN A

My thirteen year old son’s last report card had
three A’s and two B’s.Of course I am
very proud.I am also perplexed.Spence is in eight grade and already he has
three A’s.From eight grade through high
school and then four years of college, except for health and phys-ed, I never
got an A.

I
am not bragging that I never got an A, I am just confused.What has happened to our system that an A is
now commonplace.Spencer is pretty
bright; maybe he deserves the A’s, maybe.Maybe from all the proud parent of an honor roll student bumper stickers
I see, maybe our grading system has been watered
down.

In
my day (this phrase is the first sign of the onslaught of becoming an old fart)
teachers would never give more than ten percent of their class an A.They would also give ten percent of their
class a D or less.I think today’s
teachers just do not want to argue with today’s
parents.

Today’s parents, parents that played Beethoven to
the womb, bought the “My Baby Can Read” program nonsense, only show educational
DVD’s on TV and have had tutors for their little geniuses since age four, will
not accept that their child might just be average.

It
used to be the teacher is always right, now it is give them an A or prepare to
fight.

If
only when these children are adults, their employers are as nice as their
teachers.“Give me a raise, or my mommy
will come in and yell at you!”

I
did have one eight-grade teacher, in my day, who was too “nice” to give a bad
grade.I had failed two tests in this
class and had a 60, or F average.I was
acting up in class one day and she threatened me, “Young man, if you don’t
behave I will give you a D for the day.”Wise-ass me answered, “A Dee?That will raise my average.”(Sorry, I like that story and had to find somewhere to slip it into my
blog.)

I’m glad I never got an A.I never deserved an A, and had to work pretty
hard for a B.I got a bunch of B’s,
maybe more than C’s, and I was proud of them.It feels good to earn something, even if it is not the gold ring.

I
hope Spencer earned his A’s and feels good about them.Maybe he is just in a really smart
class.He must be, because in his class
of twenty-two, fifteen received A’s.

There has been a HUGE discussion in the UK since last August when the Exam scores came out and it was discovered that pupils who took their exam in January were graded less harshly than those that took the exam in May. Educators and students were apoplectic! As of April, in the middle of the academic year, the method for grading exams changed! I don't know that kids are smarter or not -- all I know is that most of them cannot write a grammatical sentence nor can the add, subtract, multiply or divide -- without a calculator. So if the lights go out we're in for a spot of bother!

I was a "B" student for most of my school years although I don't recall ever receiving a "B." I got "A"s in Art, History and English, and "C"s in Math and Science. I won't bother telling you what I got in PE.

True story: When I was attending Harvard on the Plains (aka Texas Tech) I signed up for "The Sociology of Leisure" (yes, seriously) and the professor...tenured of course...was a long haired, sandal wearing, chain-smoking peacenik. He told us on the first day of class that he would not give anyone less than a C because he wouldn't want it on his conscience if he gave someone a D or F and they were drafted and killed in 'Nam. He said we could walk out right then, no questions, and we'd get a C, or stay, study, and try for a better grade. It was too good an offer to pass up. ;)

This is so true ! It seems like often children don't really have to work very hard for anything whether it is a school grade or on the sports field - nobody wants to offend the parents of the child who is not good at sports or doesn't do well academically. What's with that ? Sometimes your child just isn't the best at something - accept it and move on people !!!Have a great day !Me

As a teacher, I have to agree with your assessment. Students and parents alike are, on the whole, aggressive with teachers, and neither can admit that maybe -- just maybe -- they're not rocket scientist material. It's frustrating, to say the least. Maybe this is why I have more issues with students and parents than other teachers. Apparently, rumor on the street is I'm a "hard grader". Sheesh.

I loved each and every one of my 'A' marks. Especially in Physics. That one warmed my heart. I worked exceedingly hard for each one, they were all earned.My child is not academic at all, is surviving school through the ministrations of two (amazing and wonderful - her maths tutor seems to also be a philosphy tutor and her english tutor teaches social science as well - love them both!) tutors, being at an alternative school and by being brilliant at art. And she is marked accordingly.

The first nine weeks of my Senior year in high school our English teacher failed the whole class, when questioned about it her answer was, just because you are a Senior does not mean you don't have to study hard, I just made it so you wont forget that.

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About Me

I am 70 years old, I have 4 children 45,42,40 and 18;and 5 grandchildren 13-6
. Divorced twice, married three times. I worked on Wall Street for 40 years after graduating from Lafayette College in 1968. I have turned to writing as since retirement I needed something to tell people "What the F*** I do." Published one book "Maybe It's Just Me!" available at Amazon, soon to release my second, "I Used To Be Stupid."
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